Police Log

Posted
Thursday, March 21, 2013 1:00 pm

The Police Log is a digest of reports filed by the Warwick Police.

SHOPLIFTING

Officer Eric Lima reported arresting two Providence women at T.J. Maxx on Bald Hill Road on March 16 after loss prevention at the store told Lima they saw the women selecting make-up, lingerie and a tablecloth and conceal the items in their bags before leaving the store without paying for them. Rafaelina Garcia, 20, of 94 Colfax St. was charged with stealing $69.94 and Aura M. Cruz, 21, of 167 East Wood Ave. was charged with stealing $74.91 worth of goods. Cruz was held for the bail commissioner based on a prior shoplifting charge within the last 12 months. Garcia was later released with summonses for District Court.

A Cranston woman was charged with shoplifting at Macy’s in the Warwick Mall on March 15 after loss prevention told Officer Stephen Major they watched her take a Coach bag from a counter and take it to another part of the store, where she attempted to hide the Coach bag under her own pocketbook before leaving the store without paying for the Coach bag. Jessica Marie Strumar, 31, of 44 Orchard Valley Dr. was held for the bail commissioner based on a Jan. 28 shoplifting charge and was later released on $1,000 personal recognizance.

NO KIDDING

Officer William Castaldi reported he went to the Wal-Mart store on Bald Hill Road on March 15 to take custody of a 16-year-old juvenile that was charged with stealing a pair of sunglasses worth $5. He said he could hear a female swearing as he approached the loss prevention office. He said the girl was arguing with a female loss prevention agent and Castaldi told her to calm down. The agent told Castaldi the girl had been totally uncooperative, used foul language and smelled of alcohol. Castaldi said the girl put her hands in her pockets as he spoke with loss prevention and he told her to take her hands out of her pockets. He said she refused, so he pulled them out and she resisted, attempting to stand up at the same time. He said he put her in handcuffs and told her to remain seated but she refused. He said he pushed down on her shoulder and she began to kick him in the shins. He said he gave up trying to control her and he decided to take her right to his cruiser while she continued to call the female loss prevention agent names, like “You [expletive] dike,” and “[Expletive] everybody that’s looking at me,” as he took her to his car and then to headquarters, where she was fingerprinted and photographed and charged with misdemeanor shoplifting and disorderly conduct.

Castaldi said he then called the girl’s mother who told him her daughter was on probation for breaking and entering and had been arrested in Lincoln several days before and that she had a drug and drinking problem and was doing “mollies” [a street name for Ecstasy or MDMA, a type of amphetamine]. Castaldi said he then spoke with a Youth Services officer who arranged an emergency hold with a judge and was then transported to the Juvenile Detention Center where she told a staff nurse she had been drinking vodka that day and that she drinks every day. She was left in the care and custody of the staff.

DUI AND REFUSAL

Sgt. Stephen Fernandez reported he was heading south on Post Road around 8 p.m. on March 17 when he noticed that a pickup truck in front of him was displaying a passenger plate and not a commercial or combination registration. He said he was about to pull the truck over on that account when he saw it swerve toward the curb and then straddle the fog line and then drive over the curb and into the parking lot of Fast Freddie’s gas at 2003 Post Rd. He said he pulled in behind it and activated his emergency lights. He said the driver got out of the truck as he was approaching it and nearly fell onto the ground as he walked to the back of truck. He said he asked the driver for a license and he admitted it had been suspended. He said he admitted he had been drinking and said, “Probably too much.” Fernandez said the man stopped in the middle of the walk and turn phase, which he was not doing very well, and said, “We both know I am drunk, should I continue?” Fernandez said he advised him it was up to him to decide and then said he wouldn’t. He also quickly failed the one-legged stand and Fernandez called it off for fear he’d fall down. Justin Frederick Caramiciu, 35, of 8 Canyon Dr. in Coventry was taken to headquarters where he refused a breath test. He was charged with DUI, refusal, laned roadway violations and driving on a suspended license. He was later released to a sober adult.

CRACK’D UP

Officer Timothy Marshall reported he was on patrol around 4:40 p.m. on March 14 when he saw a man walking toward a car in the lot of the Shop N Go at West Shore Road and Rock Avenue. He said the man gave him a peculiar look when they made eye contact and the man turned away, as if he didn’t want to be recognized. Marshall said he pulled into an adjacent lot and watched as he sat in the car. He said the man was busy with his hands in his lap before he backed his car out and accelerated down Rock Avenue toward Bluff Avenue at a high rate of speed. Marshall said he had to hit about 45 miles per hour to stay with the car. He said he turned on his emergency lights and called for backup as the car sped down the center of the street, but the car decided to pull over on Bluff Avenue. He said the driver continued to make furtive gestures and appeared nervous as Marshall approached and he noticed a burnt chemical smell in the car, along with a glass pipe. He said he ordered the driver out of the car and explained why he stopped him. He said the driver told him he had nothing to hide and Marshall could search him if he wanted to. Marshall said he found a plastic baggie rolled up and placed where a cigarette would be in a pack of Camels and it looked like crack cocaine. George E. Selwyn, 58, of 24 Mayor Ln. in Warwick was taken to headquarters where he was charged with possession of a gram of what tested to be crack cocaine and with driving a car with a suspended registration with a suspended license and held for the bail commissioner.